High investments in oncology not surely bring about novel drugs, however pharma still focus R&D on anticancer drugs. It is promising for anticancer drugs to be rewarded with high economic returns, as the top ten best-selling antibody therapeutics for cancer have accumulated revenues approaching $200 Billion.
Source: IMS MEDAS MAT September 2010 *Oncology defines as L1+L2 and limited to ethnical, none-generic
Nowadays, Roche keeps a dominated market share in the anticancer drug, involving three types of blockbuster drug(MabThera, Avastin, and Herceptin) ranked in top 3 of best -selling anticancer drugs in 2013. While its rivals, including Novartis and Pfizer, intend to enhance the competitive power through integration and merger, which inevitably result in pharma industry reshaping.
Roche take the lead in cancer drug
Roche is the largest producer of anti-cancer drugs. In the 2013 financial year, Roche generated sales of around CHF 46.8 billion (approximately $ 52.7 billion)and net profit of CHF 11.2 billion(approximately $ 12.6 billion).
Additionally, Roche has achieved a great success in the anticancer drug development, where some novel drug recently get approved to enrich its product pipeline. In 2012, the antibody pertuzumab (Roche) which inhibits the dimerization of HER2 and HER3 receptors was approved for HER2 metastatic breast cancer. In 2013, Roche saw the approval of trastuzumab emtansine for the same indication. This antibody-drug conjugate consists of the monoclonal antibody trastuzumab linked to the cytotoxic agent mertansine. Another approval for Roche in 2013 was that of vismodegib, the first-in-class hedgehog pathway inhibitor, which was approved for the treatment of basal cell carcinoma (BCC).
Novartis obtains takeover of GSK ‘s anticancer drug division
Swiss firm Novartis is selling its animal medicines division and swapping assets with Britain’s GlaxoSmithKline. It means GSK will no longer make anti-cancer drugs and it will acquire Novartis’ vaccines division.
Mike Ingram, Market Analyst, BGC Partners said: “It’s positive news for shareholders, clearly what’s going on in terms of the big picture is these pharma companies are trying to rationalise their portfolios, they’re trying to do less, better. Scale, critical mass and better pipeline are absolutely important.”
Pfizer chases AstraZeneca for immunotherapy drugs against cancer
U.S. drugmaker Pfizer Inc approaches Britain’s AstraZeneca Plc to reignite a potential $100 billion takeover, raising investor expectations it will have to increase its offer to close the deal.
AstraZeneca has a very good pipeline of immunotherapy drugs, which was what attracted Pfizer. For example, its immunotherapy compound MEI4736 has recently advanced into phase-III clinical trials (the testing stage before launch).
Buying AstraZeneca would boost Pfizer’s pipeline of cancer drugs and create significant cost and tax savings. Under British takeover rules, Pfizer has until May 26 to announce a firm intention to make an offer or back away.